Mormon LGBTQ supporters hold Circling the Wagons event

Mormon LGBTQ supporters hold Circling the Wagons event

SALT LAKE CITY – A group of LGBTQ and SSA Mormon individuals, their family members and other allies came together Saturday afternoon for the second annual Circling the Wagons event.

Last year, a group of Mormons launched the conference where gay Latter-day Saints, as well as friends and family, could share personal stories about their lives, faith and experiences.

Circling the Wagons says gay Mormons are deeply divided on how to address same-sex attraction and negotiate the choices they face. They say their conference is a haven for people to openly discuss experiences in a respectful way.

“This is not about changing people. This is about coming here and talking about ourselves in an effort to share and love and explore. Not to tell people what to do or how to become or who to be,” said Ann Peffer, co-founder of the Circle the Wagons conference.

Some of the featured speakers at the event were Josh Weed, a blogger and marriage family therapist, who is gay but has been happily married to his wife for ten years, and Benji Schwimmer, a professional dancer and choreographer who was crowned the winner of the second season of So You Think You Can Dance.